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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. staff — employees
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. staff — employees
  6. bulb — for light
  7. fork — in a road
  8. clip — a video
  9. branch — a division
  10. court — for sport
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. staff — a stick
  13. clip — for paper
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. craft — boats
  16. court — of law
  17. court — of a king
  18. pit — a hole
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. craft — a skill
  21. clip — to cut
  22. pit — in a race
  23. bulb — for light
  24. branch — of a bank

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com